Blair, Ahern get tough on Sinn Féin links to violence.

[two gun sid]

From The Guardian: Tony Blair and the Irish Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, will this week harden their stance against paramilitary involvement in mainstream politics when they warn Gerry Adams, Sinn Féin's president, that the Republicans must stop all military and criminal activity before talks can resume on the stalled peace process.

Mr Ahern will see Mr Adams in Dublin today and Mr Blair will see him at Chequers on Thursday evening. But their message will be the same: no more drawn-out negotiations in search of a power-sharing accommodation with Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party.

Little progress was expected before the coming British elections when both parties hope to consolidate their share of the province's votes at the expense of the more moderate Ulster Unionists and SDLP. Their leaders will also meet with Mr Blair and Mr Ahern.

The two premiers have synchronised their response after being told by police that the Provisional IRA was behind last month's spectacular £26m bank raid in Belfast, and that the Republican leadership knew what was going on.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/Northern_Ireland/Story/0,2763,1397828,00.html

[DaveinMD]

1. When will they call out Paisley

it really is ludicrous how everything is directed at Sinn Fein and the Republicans. Meanwhile, the DUP is free to continue their bigotry. And the RUC is included in that.

[two gun sid]

2. Paisley's already bloviating

about the bank robbery and how the DUP can't do business with a bunch of thugs and criminals. He is demanding photographic evidence of IRA decommissioning as a condition of implementing the peace.

It makes me laugh how the DUP can deal with the UFF but not Sinn Fein. Paisley needs to just go away.

[DaveinMD]

4. Blair and Ahern should stop the charade

they need to point out Paisley's ties to violence and urge everyone to leave this behind. This really pisses me off.

[greatauntoftriplets]

3. The inequities in that situation are so blatant....

You'd think that at least Ahern would be fair. I guess he is all about the power and glory like the others.

[DaveinMD]

5. Ahern is trying to kill Sinn Fein

because Republican voters in the south could be lost to Sinn Fein. This is not the Fianna Fail of 20 years ago. They have also sold out to globalization.

[greatauntoftriplets]

6. Yep.....

And sucking up to the likes of Tony Blair and George Bush is why he has let Shannon Airport to be used as a transit stop for American troops and materiel heading to Iraq....despite loud protests against the "Shannon Warport".

From what I have read, the vast majority of the Irish people are strongly opposed to the war and resent this use of their country to support it.

[DaveinMD]

7. they also rigged the vote on Nice

after it was rejected the first time. Sickening. They might as well be Fine Gael.

[RogueTrooper]

10. Of course he is

they are a rival political party. Anything else would be foolish.

[Donkeyboy75]

8. All this with no evidence.

But you see no mention of that in the Irish media, either.

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

9. Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner here.

"All with no evidence". Well said.

Blair is pandering to the Ulster Unionists, Trimble and company and the DUP, the Rev and company.

Bertie Ahern is shitting himself because he can see the gains Sinn Fein have made in the Republic.

The Irish news media i.e, the Irish Times, the Irish News from Belfast, and the Irish Independent are pandering as well.

When I first read about this robbery in the Irish News back in December I came to the instant conclusion that it was an inside job. The Northern Bank in Northern Ireland is perceived among most Catholics as a Protestant leaning institution.

Why didn't the PSNI (formerly known as the RUC) look into the various Protestant paramilitary groups possible links to this robbery? From what I read there was none. From Day 1 it was blame Sinn Fein.